Can opener



Sept. 30, 1941. e. H. FROELICH CAN OPENER Filed June 3, 1958 INVENTORhkflgi/ 0 ATTORNEY BOELICH GU15 THVE Patented Sept. 30, 1941 CAN OPENER-Gnstave Harry Froelich, Torrington, Conn., aasignor to The Turner &Seymour Manufacturing Company, Torrington, Conn., a corporation ofConnecticut Application June 3, 1938, Serial No. 211,482 8 Claims. (oi.30-9) This invention relates to an improved can opener of the typeadapted to cut out the top of a can and has been shown in connectionwith a wall type can opener including a rotatable cutting disk and afeeding disk and means for moving the cutting disk toward the feedingdisk to pierce the top of the can.

One ofthe main objects of this invention is the provision of improvedmeans'for effecting piercing of the can top and for bringing the cuttingdisk and feeding disk into proper cutting relation so as to providesufficient pressure of the can wall and flange against the feeding diskto effectively feed the can to effect a continuous cutting operation.

Another more specific object of this invention is the provision ofimproved means for effecting such puncturing, clamping and cuttingoperation by a continuous forward movement of a single manipulatablehandle and for releasing the can by a simple reverse movement of thehandle.

Another object of this invention is the provision of improved means formoving a rotatable cutting disk toward and away from a feeding disk toeffect the puncturing operation before either disk is rotated wherebythe puncturing operations may be efi'ected at a minimum of pressure andwith substantial uniformity.

Still another object of this invention consists in an improvedconstruction of the cutting disk to prevent the disk from cutting intothe flange of the can, to cause the disk to force the flange of the canagainst the periphery of the feeding disk and also to force the wall ofthe can against the lateral face of the feeding disk.

Other objects of the invention will appear from the followingdescription taken in connection with the drawing, in which- Fig. 1 is anelevational view of a can opener support as viewed from the rightshowing the operating mechanism in normal position;

Fig. 2 is an elevational view of the can opener, support as viewed fromthe left showing the cutcutting disk carrier controlling cams; and

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. I.

I have shown the can opener mechanism of my invention as being mountedon a support 10 connected to a wall bracket H by any suitable means, themeans here disclosed, merely for purposes of illustration, comprisingpins 12 projecting from one face of the support i entering apertures ina forward extension of the bracket H, the support in being clampedagainst the side of said extension by means of a winged-nut IS on a boltprojecting from the support whereby the can opener support is readilyattachable and detachable from said bracket.

The can opener mechanism includes a knurled feeding disk I and a cuttingdisk It which are adapted to be moved relatively to each other from theposition shown in Fig. 3 to that shown in Fig. 5 to puncture the top ofthe can and cause the can flange to bear on the periphery of the knurledfeeding disk l5.

As disclosed I prefer to move the cutting disk relatively to the feedingdisk. The feeding disk I5 is provided with a shaft 11 journalled in abearing i8 secured in the support I!) in any suitable manner asindicated. For the purpose of rotating the feeding disk i5, I provide acrank handle of any suitable construction held rotatably against the endof the shaft H by a screw b'olt 2|.

Secured to the hub of the handle 20 by any suitable means as indicatedis a cam 24 rotatably mounted on the end of the shaft ll of the feedingdisk. The cam 26 is shown as provided' with a pin 25 which operates in aslot 26 of a similarly shaped cam 21 non-rotatably secured to the shaftll of the feeding disk I5 by means of a pin or key 28. When the handleis given a rotation of approximately 180 fromthe position shown in Figs.1, 2 and 7 into the position shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the pin 25, Figs. 1and 6, will engage the end of the slot 26, Figs. 4 and 6, in the cam 21and further rotation of the handle will rotate the feeding disk I5.

The cams 24 and 21 cooperate with a roller 30 supported on the slidingcutting disk carrier 3|. The carrier 3| may be guided by lugs 32 struckup on the support II) as indicated. The carrier is slotted as indicatedat 33, Figs. 3 and 5, to receive the hearing I 8 of the shaft II. The

carrier is normally held in its raised position so as to hold the roller30 against the faces of the cams by means of a spring 35 secured on thesupport I!) and having one of its ends anchored thereto as indicated andits other end bearing in a slot in the carrier. The cutting disk It maybe rotatably supported on a stud 36 mounted in th portion of the carrier3| which is located on the left-hand side of the support It, the carrier3| being bent into U-shape form. as indicated with the legs of the Uslidably bearing against the side faces of the support.

When the handle is in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2 the spring 35holds the carrier in its raised position in which position the cuttingdisk i6 is raised and spaced from the feeding disk 15 to receive theflange of a can as shown in Fig. 3. Upon the first movement of thehandle which is effected without rotating the feeding disk I5, thecam 24operating against the roller 30 moves the carrier 3i downward causingthe cutting disk to move from the position shown in Fig. 3 to that shownin Fig. 5 thereby effecting the puncturing operation of the top of thecan without feeding the can. At this point the pin 25 in the cam 24engages the end of the slot 25 in the cam 21 picking up this cam andthrough this cam rotating the feeding disk after the puncturingoperation has been completed. The high portions of the cams 24 and 21form in effect a continuous circular disk holding the cutting diskdepressed during the continued. forward opera tion of the handle. Whenthe can top has been severed, the handle is given a reverse rotationwhich rotates the cam 24 counter-clockwise, for example, from theposition shown in Fig. i to that shown in Fig. 1 without communicatingany rotation to the feeding disk i5. As the cams are rotated into theposition shown in Fig. 1, the spring 35 will raise the carrier 31 andmove the cutting disk from the position shown in Fig. 5 to that shown inFig. 3 thereby releasing the can for removal from the can opener.

The cam 21 may be made slightly larger than the cam 24 in order thatwhen the rotation of the handle is reversed the roller 30 may besupported free or the cam 24, thus preventing the rotational movement ofthe cam 24 from being transferred to the cam 21 and to the feeding diskl5 thereby permitting the feeding disk to remain stationary during thismovement of the handle.

If desired the handle 20 and cam 24 may be connected together in suchmanner that the handle 20 will extend toward the bracket II when the canopener is not in use and the cutting disk is raised. This as is obviousmay be done by changing the relative angular relation of the cam andhandle by 180. In that case then if the handle is stopped in theposition shown in Fig. l and reversely rotated through an angle of 180the cam will be released, the parts having been movedinto position shownin Fig. 3.

As disclosed in Figs. 3 and 5, I prefer to provide the cutting disk ISwith a double-beveled cutting edge 40, the bevel on the right-hand sideof the disk being of such inclination as to prevent the cutting edge ofthe disk from cutting into the flange of cans of the smallest diameterfor which the can opener is designed. The cutting disk, because of theinherent resiliency of the carrier 3|, may move away from the supportill during the puncturing and cutting operations to accommodate flangesof different thicknesses and of varying thickness due to seams. Theright-hand face of the cutting disk lies in a plane normal to the axisofthe cutting disk and the parts are so proportioned that as the cuttingdisk is moved into cutting relation, for example, with the top of acylindrical can the cutting disk will tend to straighten the flange andwall of the can and force the can wall with increased pressure againstthe knurled periphery and the knurled and plane sections of the end face'of the feeding disk 15 thereby increasing the effec- 6 tiveness of thefeeding disk in feeding the can to effect the cutting operation and alsoeffectively preventing tilting of the can in a plane normal to the planeof the support as well as preventing rocking of the can about an axisnormal to 10 the plane of the support.

While I have described a single-modification embodying the principles ofmy invention, it is to be understood, of course, that various changesmay be made within the spirit of. this invention and that I intend toreserve the right to make all changes that fall within the spirit of theinvention and scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a can opener, a support, a feeding disk journalled in saidsupport, a movable knife can rier mounted on said support, a knifecarried by said carrier, an operating handle secured for rotation withrespect to said feeding disk. means on said handle for operating saidknife carrier for causing said knife to pierce the top of a can theperiphery of said feeding disk during the initial forward movement ofsaid handle, and means for operatively connecting said handle to saidfeeding disk after the piercing of the can top has been effected forrotating said feeding disk upon continued forward movement of saidhandle.

journalled in said support, a movable knife carrier mounted on saidsupport, a knife carried by said carrier, an operating handle securedfor rotation with respect to said feeding disk, means carried on saidhandle for operatingsaid knife carrier for causing said knife to piercethe top of the can and to move the flange of the can into feedingrelation with said feeding disk, and means for connecting said. handleto said feeding disk after the piercing of the can top has beeneffected, said means cooperating with said first mentioned means tomaintain said carrier in operated position during the continued forwardmovement of said handle.

3. A can opener including a support, a feeding disk journalled in saidsupport, a knife carrier slidably mounted on said support, a knifecarried by said carrier, an operating handle rotatably secured withrespect to said feeding disk,

initial forward 'movement of said handle to move said carrier to causesaid knife to pierce the top of a can and to move the flange of the caninto operative engagement with the feeding disk, a second rotatable cam,means securing said cam to said feeding disk, and a lost-motion drivingconnection between said cams whereby said second mentioned cam will beoperated after said operation of said first mentioned cam, said camscooperating to form in effect a continuous disk and for pressing" theflange of the can against 2. In a can opener, a support, a feeding diska cam secured to said handle and operable upon carrier to causesaidsk'iife to pierce the top of a can and to move the nange of the caninto operative engagement with the feeding disk, a second rotatable cam,means securing said cam to said feeding disk, a driving connectionbetween said cams effective to operate said second cam after said firstmovement of said handle, said cams cooperating to'form in effect acontinuous disk to hold said carrier and knife in operated positionduring the continued forward movement of said handle, and a springoperating to move said carrier and knife into normal position, said camsadapted upon reverse movement of said handle to be moved into transversealinement to permit said spring to move said knife out of operativerelation to said feeding disk.

5. In a can opener comprising a plate support, a feeding disk journalledin said plate, a U- shaped knife carrier embracing one edge of saidplate, a cutting disk carried by one leg of said carrier, said carrierbeing mounted for movement on said plate to move said cutting disk intooperative relation with respect to said feeding disk, a handle foroperating said feeding disk and said carrier, and a connection! betweensaid handle and said feeding disk and carrier operating to move saidcarrier and cause said cutting disk to puncture the top of the canduring the initial movement of said handle and upon further movement ofthe handle to connect said handle to said feeding disk to cause therotation of the and cutting disk mounted for straight line movea can andsevering of the can top during continued movement of said handle.

6. In a can opener comprising a plate support,

'a feeding disk journalled in said plate, a U- into operative relationwith respect to said feeding disk, a handle for operating said feedingdisk and said carrier, and a connection between said handle and saidfeeding disk and operable upon initial movement of said handle to movesaid carrier and cause said cutting disk to puncture the top of the canand upon further movement of the handle to connect said handle to saidfeeding disk to rotate the can and sever the can top, said connectingmeans including a cam rotatable with the handle, a second cam secured tosaid feeding disk, and a pick-up driving connection between said camswhereby said first mentioned cam may be rotated with respect to saidsecond cam to cause the can top to be punctured before the feeding diskis operated.

7. In a can opener, a support, a feeding disk and cutting disk mountedfor straight line movement toward and away from each other, an operatingmeans, means operated by said operating means during the first part of acontinuous movement thereof to move said disks toward each other, anddelayed action means operated by said operating means after suchmovement of said disks for initiating and continuing the operation ofsaid feeding disk.

8. In a can opener, a support, a feeding disk ment toward and away fromeach other, an operating means, means operated by said operating meansduring the first part of a continuous move ment thereof to move saiddisks toward each other, delayed action means operated by said operatingmeans after such movement of said disks for initiating and continuingthe operation of said feeding disk, and means also operated by saidoperating means for holding said disks in moved position.

GUSTAVE HARRY FROELICH.,

